Flashing Light
by VaingloriousHound
Summary: Naruto had a friend, a true and honest friend that stood with him through his childhood. As ninja they will become the greatest to ever wield a blade and forge bonds stronger than anything the world could throw at them! / NarutoxTayuya and maybe OC(Ren)xFem!Kurama. Redhead!Naruto. Follows canon events. Other pairings yet to be arts with the OC's POV but is Naruto-centric!
1. Chapter 1

**Flashing Light**

 **Naruto fanfiction**

 **A/N:** **POV will change during chapters, to ease transition I will point that out should it happen. We begin with an OC.**

 **Also, be aware that this is going to be a bit AU. For one Naruto comes more after his mother in terms of appearance and is more like his father in behaviot while still obviously Naruto. So he wont be too OOC. I hope...**

 **XxxxX**

 _"When fighting an enemy with your sword, he will never catch a glimpse of it. Your blade will be too fast to see, strike to quick to be stopped and return to it's sheath before the enemy has realized his demise. Accomplish this and you will have conquered my legacy, son."_

Yeah, because that was sooo easy to do. Father had always been a harsh teacher but how in the world was I supposed to master his way of the sword without him teaching it to me?

Sighing I sheathed my blade - a training sword until I shall wield my father's - and looked at the result of my training. Fruitless, as always. About 3 meters in front of me stood a standard training log about as tall as your average human male. Hundreds of shallow cuts and some newer deep gashes covered every inch of the log's surface. Surely the issue wasn't power. I mean, my blade is like 57 cm in length and I can cut the log 3 meters from where I stand deep enough to go halfway into it. But I am too slow. I cannot use that much power and sheath my sword fast enough so no one could see it. A civilian might just miss it when I go full speed and no power but even us academy students can see it.

"Ren! Come on, breaks over!"

Yes, yes of course. Not to be rude I turned to the girl that had called out to me, Ino what's-her-name-again, and simply nodded. She squealed, something I loathed to no end, and hurried away. I adjusted my grey vest and pushed the blade that had rested at my hip up onto my back. It was still too long for me to carry it at my side. I was after all barely eleven years old.

And if anyone hadn't heard Ino what's-her-face shout all over the academy yard, my name is Ren. Just Ren. My family name died with my father and until I have mastered the way of his blade it will stay dead. And judging by my progress through the three years since he passed I doubt I'll ever carry my family name again.

I brushed a lock of my, as Kurenai (my guardian) always told me, far too long black hair out of my green eyes. Reaching for the leather cord that was supposed to keep my hair in a small ponytail, I quickly gathered them in one once again. Somewhere in the distance I heard someone squeal and suppressed the urge to shiver. Still, I was better of than Sasuke. I had only one fangirl stalking me.

I heard the academy bell chime and cursed inwardly. Iruka, our teacher, was gonna have a fit if I arrived late again. So I sprinted into the academy as fast as I could, which was quite fast for a student but simple standard for the usual genin.

After nearly tripping on the stairs I actually made it into the classroom _and_ my seat before the lesson was about to begin.

As always, Iruka bored everyone save the pink haired one to death. To my right sat the only person in this academy I've ever really talked to.

Naruto Uzumaki.

While as quiet as me at times, when people approached him he starts grinning like an idiot and becomes loud enough to make my ears hurt.

Aside from that, I trained with him. The violet eyed redhead was terrible in taijutsu, I actually blamed the teachers for that, but his kenjutsu was quite decent. Ever since he caught me training my father's techniques, he bugged me and challenged me until I agreed to show him standard sword stances.

He's a ridiculously fast learner.

Anyhow, he was dozing off. Not that I was surprised. It was pretty boring to listen to this stuff.

Oh great, he's drooling...

"Oi, Uzumaki!" I hissed lowly and jabbed him lightly in the ribs, "You're making a mess!"

With a long moan he straightens his back an wearily lifts his face of the desk. The girl next to him turned bright red at the noise. Hinata, the Hyuuga heiress, always did that around him. She fainted when he sat down besides her at the beginning of the year. Strange.

"Mmmh.. whazzup?" he mumbles before flinching and deftly avoiding a piece of chalk aimed at his head.

Yeah, that reflex he definitely got from my training. I just loved my shuriken training. Good ol' moving target.

Naruto didn't look proud at all. In fact, he seemed horrified. I was confused for a second before I remember him telling me something, about a year back.

 _"An act?" I questioned._

 _He nodded, a sad smile on his face._ _"People don't like me. Some even are afraid of me. I figured... I mean, what would happen if they know I'm not as bad as they think? I don't want them to be afraid of me. I don't even know why they are. But for now, seeming weak is going to do me a lot of good..."_

Remembering that, I figured I should help him out. So I stood up and said as bored as possible:

"Now I get why you aren't teaching us Shurikenjutsu, Sensei Iruka. Your aim is terrible."

And with that I sat down again.

The students laughed, of course, but Iruka didn't react like I thought he would. He seemed grateful. Damn, that guy was more insightful than I gave credit for.

The day dwindled on and eventually, we were released. After avoiding Ino, as I always did, me and Naruto headed for Training ground three. As we always did since we met.

"So?" Naruto asked me, "What's on today?"

Walking up to the small pond in the middle of the clearing I took of my shoes.

"I dare say it's water walking again." I smirked when I heard Naruto sigh. He wasn't any good controlling all that chakra of his.

We were at this exercise for about three months now and I finally got it down. While we practiced I realized that Naruto had so much more chakra than me, it was ridiculous. At first, when he couldn't even stand on the water for more than a second, I asked Naruto to pump out as much chakra as possible from his feet.

And hot damn he did. It became actually visible! And he was launched out of the damn pond more than 10 meters into the air. Since then we came to the conclusion that Naruto must have so much chakra, he simply couldn't control it. That also explained his problems with the clone jutsu. It was virtually impossible for him to use so little chakra so he constantly overloaded the technique.

"I'm gonna make it this time, you better believe it!" A classic exclamation of his.

Then again, he had the walking on water part down since last week. It was the fighting on water while staying atop it that he had trouble with. My problem was that I ran out of chakra way before him so if I didn't beat him before that happened, I automatically lost.

We both walked onto the pond, I drew my blade and Naruto unsealed his, which was the exact same as mine, from a scroll of his. Sealing Arts really got to the boy that refused to read books on a daily basis but as soon as seals were involved, he devoured it like a black hole.

"Ready?" I asked my friend, allowing a smirk to crawl into my features.

"Always, Ren! Come on!" Naruto shouted as he dashed forward to meet my blade.

But he slipped, his right foot vanished beneath the water's surface, and tumbled into the pond.

Classic.

"Naruto, concentrate," I scolded and eased out of my stance. "A ninja must always be calm and collected in any given situation."

Struggling a little Naruto climbed onto the surface once again. When he met my eyes, his had a hard glint to them and I knew our real spar was about to start.

 **XxxxX(this indicates a POV change)**

It had been real boring years in the academy but finally the graduation exam was up. Me and Ren had never left out even one day of our training and I dare say it shows. Though Ren is still pissed that he isn't fast enough to use his father's moves. Hell, we aren't even genin yet! He shouldn't expect to be a master swordsman already!

But that's Ren for ya... Always so focused.

Anyways, it was too damn boring. Sitting in the classroom and waiting for the teachers and students to arrive... Why the hell was I even there that early? Oh right, so me and Ren could rig the exam.

Yeah, we were gonna pull that of alright.

Even with all the training I couldn't make one of those stupid clones and I just knew they wouldn't pass me without it. So we came up with a plan. Ren was going to do my clone.

Easy.

We hoped.

At least we knew it was possible. Ren's chakra control was the best in all of the academy. We found out that if he henged into me and then made a clone, the clone would also appear as me. And with his control over the techniques he was able to project the clone a fair distance away from him.

So we hoped that Ren could get close enough to me so that he could henge and then project a clone to my side when required.

That was a master plan!

Now we just needed to figure out how to get him that close without anyone noticing.

"Any idea yet, Ren?" I asked, standing in front of the door that lead to the exam room.

"None" was all I got. Then he shook his head, his even longer hair and ponytail swishing around.

Somewhere Ino squealed. I just hoped that me having nearly the same hairstyle but a bit shorter wasn't going to bite me like it did with Ren. I shuddered at the thought of fan girls chasing me... Urgh! Thank kami my fake ass attitude kept them away.

"Don't worry, I'll make it. You just don't mess up the rest," Ren told me with a somewhat evil smirk and walked up the aisle to his seat.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I shouted and also walked up to my seat.

And so I went through the whole test. Went of without a hitch. Until we got to that point where it could all go wrong.

"Now Naruto, the last test" Iruka's voice was so unnaturally grave, it made me wonder if he was wearing a mask just as I did.

"Perform the clone jutsu."

The command was given and now it counted. I just prayed to kami that Ren made it.

Going through the necessary hand seals I shouted "Clone Jutsu!" which wasn't needed at all but I needed to give Ren a heads up.

For the longest second in all my live nothing happened. Just as I was about to drop my head in defeat, a perfect copy of myself shimmered into existence at my side.

It looked at its hands and flexed it's arms in exactly the same why I did then. It was something we studied countless times until we moved in perfect unison. A clone was supposed to be a mirror image of the user, confusing the enemy as to who the real one was.

Iruka stared and stared, studying me and the clone. Please don't see it... Please don't see it... Please don't-

"You passed!" he told me with a smile and instantly the clone dispelled.

"Of course I did! You ever doubted me?" My cheering would have been far more excessive but I was just so damn glad that we managed to pull this of. I accepted the headband with the usual grin that made my face hurt and dropped it as soon as I got through the door into the hall.

As soon as I was outside, Ren came flying out of the door next to the exam room.

The woman's bathroom.

Oh hell.

He smacked into the wall and slumped to the floor.

I carefully approached him. "Ren?... You... alright there?"

Slowly and deliberately he pushed himself up, the hand print was still glaring red in his face.

"You owe me." he growled, "Big time!"

I could feel myself starting to sweat. Oh no, that sounded like target practice! Ren was damn good with his sword but his shurikenjutsu was also only second to Sasuke's, the Uchiha prodigy, and his clan was already known for their prowess in that area!

Well... they were, before they were all massacred.

For now me and Ren left the academy for training. I was a pincushion afterwards. How I regreted to have ever told him of my fast healing...

 _The next morning..._

I just hated waiting! Again we were stuck waiting in the classroom. This time for our assignments to a genin team.

Me and Ren made sure to be assigned to the same team. How? Well we discreetly showed off to old man Hokage of course!

Yeah, we figured that if the old man knew we would work well together he would place us on the same team. Ren an me made a point in creating collaboration techniques with our sword styles and even our very own 'blade without a blade' taijutsu style.

After watching the old man for a few days I figured his route for his daily walks and the two of is always pulled of some complicated stuff when the old man walked by.

Sure enough, when he visited me once again in my apartment, he asked me about Ren. How I knew him and if he was a good friend of me. I boasted a whole lot about our training and how he taught me kenjutsu and brought me onto the whole sealing thing.

Now it was just a matter of time until we were on the same team. I just hoped Ino wasn't on it as well...

 **XxxxX**

It was so fucking dank in this room. Did they really expect me to sleep here!? Fucking losers... I fought my way through 37 other faggots only to land here? Freedom my ass!

"Fuck you Orochimaru!" I screamed at the dank ceiling.

I was gonna escape one day, one mother-fucking day!

But for now, that was bloody impossible. Orochimaru would just kill my ass when i tried to flee. With that stupid mark on my neck I would die faster than I could blink...

Everything, absolutely _everything_ was _her_ fault! _She_ sold me to those fucking bastards!

I will get out of here! I will have my life back!

"Just you fucking wait. Tayuya is coming for your ugly ass!"

 **A/N: Fresh out of the hospital, that's what I do. Well, there you have it.** **Sad news everyone, I'll have to abandon a few stories. Mind that the most followed and reviewed stories will be continued. Life changed a lot and time's kinda lacking now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Flashing Light**

 **Naruto fanfiction**

 **Chapter 2**

 **A/N: If you hadn't guessed, Tayuya will be involved with either Naruto or Ren. You may or may not decide that, depends on the number of reviews.**

 **POV changes won't ever be named if I don't think it's necessary. It should be pretty clear who's the one if you just read it correctly.**

 **I will just mention again that Naruto's appearance is more like his mother's and his personality more like his father's. I found it kind of strange that a clan (apparently full of redheads) suddenly had a blonde in their 'royal' line. Like Minato's genes were so hardcore they just ignored the generations of dominant red in Kushina's...**

 **Also there is no real bashing or something. Sasuke is a dick of a character and that never really changed until Shippuden. He will be good or he won't, who knows.**

 **Ah yes, tenses. So, I am aware of sudden switches and awkward wording. It is supposed to be some kind of re-telling. Though it is written a little strange for that. If it bothers you guys too much I will just re-edit it to present tense.**

 **XxxxX  
**

I was prepared for a lot of stuff. I was prepared to have Ino on my team or even Kiba. I could have dealt with Sakura, if only just so. But Sasuke was a god damn no-go. And as if that wasn't already bad, it got even worse.

Team 12's sensei, our sensei, was none other than Kurenai Yuhi, my guardian and the scariest woman I knew.

So of course me and Naruto sat ramrod straight, waiting for her to arrive. Sasuke was visibly confused by our behavior but that changed as soon as Kurenai's form shimmered into existence in front of the class.

Oh no, I didn't spot the genjutsu!

"Team 12! With me!" she barked and walked out through the door. The class was absolutely silent. No one dared to utter a word.

Naruto seemed to vanish from his chair, he was out of the door before Sasuke even rose from his, and I was hot on his heels.

We hurtled out into the hallway but she was nowhere so be seen.

Oh no, where did she go? "Naruto!" I shouted, "You able to sense her?"

Naruto stilled a second before cursing and shouting "Kai!" while he held a hand in a seal in front of him. A visible wall of chakra rolled of him and through half of the academy.

Kurenai appeared right besides me, the genjutsu stripped from her, and whacked me over the head. Hard.

My face hit the floor just as she whacked Naruto as well and kicked Sasuke back into the classroom before the boy even caught on to what happened.

"I expected more of you." Even with my face on the cold floor I could feel her red gaze shift onto me. I started to sweat. " _Especially_ from you, Ren."

I rolled sideways and bounced onto my feet. But instead of standing straight I came up in the lowest bow possible. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Naruto mirroring the action.

"We are so sorry!" we shouted as one.

Now I just hoped she wasn't too pissed. Oh man, why didn't I see the genjutsu? She trained me to spot them!

There was a heavy silence in the hallway only interrupted by the groan that came of Sasuke as he slouched out of the classroom.

We didn't give Sasuke much credit for... well, we didn't give him any credit at all, but even he wasn't stupid enough to piss of one Kurenai Yuhi. So the moment he spotted us, he instantly collapsed into an equally low bow.

I was surprised. He was an arrogant prick, his ego as big as the Hokage mountain and his attitude as shitty as Naruto's former hideous jumpsuit had been. But even the almighty Sasuke Uchiha seemed to know the difference between an academy graduate and a renown jonin.

Suddenly I could feel Kurenai shift and chakra invaded my senses. "Kai!" I shouted before the genjutsu could take hold of us. That was exhausting. Releasing a chakra pulse big enough to cover the three of us was not exactly easy. While Naruto could fire these all day and still pull one of that could cover all of Konoha, I was now seriously out of breath.

"That was acceptable," Kurenai said and I looked up to see her smile kindly at us.

"Meet me tomorrow at Training ground 3 around noon. We will see about you being genin then," she instructed and vanished in a body flicker.

Sasuke stared at the spot she had occupied and then turned to me. "What was that?" he asked. He sounded seriously confused.

"That was Kurenai, Ren's guardian," answered Naruto, "And she was seriously pissed off that we didn't spot her genjutsu even though we should have."

I nodded and winced a little, thinking about all the pain we could expect in the true test tomorrow. "We better prepare," I told Sasuke but right then is huge ass ego returned full force, I could see it in his eyes.

"And why would I need to do that?" he questioned, voice dripping with arrogance. "I will definitely pass whatever this woman could possibly come up with."

Oh no, he didn't. He didn't just insinuate the inferiority of the female sex. That was a mistake, a deadly one to make around Naruto.

For some reason Naruto reacted quite violently to such behavior. Any discrimination for obvious reason but when it came to insulting woman and calling them weak solely because of their gender, Naruto flipped out. That was how we got to know Anko.

I don't really remember it all that well but it was about a year ago...

 _We were walking back from our training, the usual route to avoid crowded places. Neither me nor Naruto were fans of those._ _That's how we ran by a group of men surrounding a young woman. She wasn't any older than Kurenai, and never ever would I dare claim anything else, and obviously a ninja._

 _"As if, Snake bitch," one of the men snarled, "why would they make you a special jonin, huh?"_ _The woman spat a dango skewer in front of his feet._

 _"Get out of my sight you assholes!" she growled at them._

 _One of the men laughed loudly, it was what had us stop in the first place. "As if a woman could be strong enough for that and you stupid snake kissing bitch even less so!"_

 _I just knew that this was going to end in a fight, i just didn't expect Naruto to start it._

 _The redhead barreled past me with a vicious snarl and strangely dark eyes._ _The first man hit the ground before the other three even noticed him._ _I gaped at the scene. Naruto's foot was still on the downed man's head, a feral snarl in his expression. I wanted to step forward and aid him, these guys had it coming anyways, and was just reaching for my blade when it was already over._

 _Naruto whipped around and fell into a crouch on all fours before launching himself at the next target. The man's nose shattered as two feet stomped down and a second one was ripped of his feet and sent flying into the ally as he was caught by Naruto's full arm mid flight._ _I had drawn my blade when Naruto kicked the last one viciously in the chest and I swore to have heard some ribs breaking._

 _"FUCK YOU, YOU ASSHOLES! BE GLAD SHE DIDN'T TEAR YOU A NEW ONE!"_ _I was forced to cover my ears at the booming volume Naruto's voice had reached._

 _"Nice going, kid."_ _The woman clapped excitedly at the still crouching Naruto who looked around in slight confusion. He stood up when I walked up to him, still blinking in confusion._

 _"Wow...," he began, "I sure was angry alright but that was... well..."_

 _"Awesome" finished the purple haired woman. "I'm Anko and you and your friend have earned yourself some dango!"_

 _So we met Anko, who was actually Kurenai's best friend. Ever since then we noticed Naruto growl at any disrespectful behavior against woman. We found out why quite some time later..._

He had it coming.

"Are you implying something, Uchiha?"

I flinched back out of my remembering when Naruto growled dangerously low at Sasuke.

Aw man, I just knew something like that was gonna happen...

Sasuke raised an eyebrow before smirking. "I'm merely saying that some _woman_ couldn't possibly stop me from becoming stronger."

I put my hand up for Sasuke to see, three fingers up.

He frowned at them, looking confused. Two fingers and I took a step back, sliding open a window in the hallway.

One finger and Sasuke began to look uneasy. He turned sideways to Naruto and blanched at the angry snarl on the redhead's face.

"Zero."

Before Sasuke could even react or exclaim his superiority complex again face met fist and Sasuke was granted a free flight out of the academy, straight through the window I had opened.

Naruto growled after him before shrugging. "He had it coming."

I nodded. "That he did indeed."

 **XxxxX**

Ren and I walked past a dent in a wall that looked suspiciously like Sasuke on our way to the training ground. I was only slightly miffed by the lack of a body but that asshole made me so damn angry. Thinking they're superior just 'cause they have a dick... Something growled in me whenever something sexist like that came up. There went my good mood.

"So," I said, turning to Ren, "What do you reckon is that test of hers?"

The boy shrugged, lightly tugging at his ponytail. He does that every time he starts thinking about something. And I picked it up instead of the head-rubbing. Scary to think about what I would be without Ren... Orange jumpsuits, urgh! I like the gray and black far better. And not to forget the red swirl, that will always stay.

"I bet we'll have to search for her or something like that. Maybe even fight, who can tell?"

I hummed in agreement and we walked in comfortable silence through all of the glares that were thrown my way.

When we arrive at our usual training spot we were surprised to see Sasuke there, furiously punching one of the training logs. Well, I had to admit, at least he's punching hard.

I shoot Ren a look, tugging reflexively at my ponytail. He returned the look with the same gesture.

 _What the hell?_

I suggest we ignore him, no sense in hiding our training from a team mate. Ren's slightly miffed that Sasuke has to be in the vicinity, he really didn't like the Uchiha and neither did I but we'll have to put up with that for now.

We faced each other, giving a slight bow before I unsealed my sword and Ren drew his. I kept my face impassive as I evaluated Ren while he did the same to me. He was by far the fastest genin I knew, faster than even Sasuke apparently was. I could easily match him in power and my endurance was through the roof. If it came to simply defending myself I could just outlast him, tire him out. But that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to put up a real fight. To do so I needed to catch Ren's blade, needed to stop him, slow him down and then counter.

When my plan was set I already had to block a lunge from my best friend. Damn! I nearly missed the movement by just blinking!

I guided the blade past my and used the excess pressure of Ren's strike to propel me on the spot and swipe at his midsection. Instantly Ren fell into a low crouch, a crouch only possible for someone as flexible as him, and my blade cut harmlessly through the air above him. Oh fuck! Ren's sword was at his side, sheathed, and that meant he was attempting to use the _Flashing Blade_ on me!

I saw it, which was a shame for Ren and oh so good for me. It was still wickedly fast and I had to use my swords guard to block in time. And damn, it packed a punch! I desperately held the guard in front of me and was pushed of my feet. But Ren was as good in improvising as me so he used the remaining force behind his blow to spin, just like I did, and swept his leg high right at me. He caught me at the hip and I was sent a short distance trough the air before rolling on the ground to brace my fall.

Coming up in a crouch I looked around wildly but I couldn't see him. Just for a second, one damn second, I was confused. My mistake. "Kai!" I blurted and flared my chakra. The air rippled right in front of me and I had to throw myself to the side in order to escape a spinning slash from Ren.

"That was slow, Naruto!" he shouted at me. I didn't respond. I was kind of disappointed in myself and just growled back before charging at him, spinning vertically at him like a buzz saw. But Ren spun sideways and countered with a horizontal spin of his own with cost me a hair or two.

That was our way to fight. Using the opponents strength, your body weight and the forces of gravity. The _Spinning Blade_ or, as we called my version which included a lot more counters without spinning and the bastardized version of Ren's _Flashing Blade_ , the _Dancing Blade._

To Sasuke, who by now just must have stopped beating away at his log, it must have looked like we were dancing. Spinning at each other, away from each other, jumping and ducking. Every actual block we did was always a fluent move that barely had us stand still. Well, minus the irregular guard I had to pull off and the straight stabbing counters from me.

I landed awkwardly after a somersault and saw Ren using his _Flashing Blade_ again. Now I just knew I was done fore without using my own version of the technique. Now it's not like I couldn't have learned the original but out of respect for Ren's father I refused the offer to learn it.

So I wasn't as fast with the sword as Ren, I just couldn't literally flash my blade at the enemy. So I... well, flashed myself at them. And hell no I didn't pull my undies down! I meant I moved myself with the blade! Geez...

Anyhow, key was me using the strength in my legs and upper body to launch myself straight at someone, all the while cutting them in half with the force of the movement. Poor logs didn't stand a chance. Ren wanted to call it _Lion's Song_ but I had the feeling that I wasn't worthy of the name. Couldn't explain why... Well, it was now called _Flashing Step_. I guess there's worse name's going around.

Using my chakra I adhered myself to the ground only to shortly afterwards overload the technique and be blown of the ground. I long since learned to direct the excess expulsion of chakra and found myself able to boost myself greatly. I held my blade at the ready, not in it's sheath. I didn't carry one in the first place. My vision tunneled at the extreme speed and I zeroed in on Ren, whose legs bent slightly and his grip tightened on the hilt of his sheathed sword. Mid flight I took a second step to further increase my speed and when I got close enough I swung into the flash of light that was Ren's sword.

The resulting crack was deafening. Surely shattered my eardrums. I stood a few meters behind Ren, my sword still outstretched as was Ren's. There was a tense moment of absolute nothing between us, all I could hear was the thundering of my heart. In front of me stood Sasuke, arms hanging at his side as he tried not to gape like a fish.

 _Ping!_

With a metallic clack my blade broke in half and hit the dusty ground. Damn!

Ren was sheathing his sword, a neutral expression in his face as he turned to face me. Sighing in defeat I bent down to pick up the broken blade but Ren beat me to it. I looked up at him and he smiled at me, a friendly and true smile I never really saw all that often. Other's must think he was incapable of smiling.

"That was brilliant!" he told me when he handed me the blade back, "I saw you managing a second step! And that despite the speed you moved at! Awesome"

Oh dear, was I turning red? I tugged at my ponytail and looked at the blade in my hands. "Well, yeah!" I laughed sheepishly. I shook my head and looked at him. The smile was leaving his features but his eyes were still alight with passion. "I swear you nearly have your move down! I just saw the sword for a second before it began to blur!"

Suddenly he turned professional. "When exactly did you see it? The beginning? The initial strike?"

Oh man, that was going to be a long, long discussion about his timing...

 **XxxxX**

It wasn't exactly better than the damp cell I was in at first but every _fucking!_ thing was better than that anyways. At least this new abode was dry. I also had my own bath which was neat. The actual downside was me being Orochimaru's bloody bodyguard along with those three morons and the scary one. Urgh, he threw his spine at me! Who even does that!?

"Sleep time, my dears!" crooned Orochimaru's voice through the hallway and I shivered at his sickeningly sweet tone. "Tomorrow is your first mission as the "Sound Four" and I expect _results_!"

Results. Whenever he hissed that word I got the urge to vomit. We were to kidnap some poor fucks again. But I couldn't disobey, couldn't run. All I could do was biding my time and resisting the mark's influence until I could get it off my bloody neck.

"Sleep time it is...," I mumbled and moved to the surprisingly soft bed. At least the stupid snake did something right. I clenched my flute in my right hand and slipped it under the pillow.

One day I was gonna get out. Just you wait. Sleep didn't come easily to me that night...

 **A/N: There we go, chapter 2! Naruto's extreme reaction's to sexist behavior will be explained later on, no worries. Tell me what you think so I can improve upon it.**

 **So while writing this I got the feeling that this might just be a Naruto/Tayuya story. The girl is basically a blank slate aside from the coarse language and her sparse background with Orochimaru. She sure as hell won't be an Uzumaki (at least not by blood, lol) and will meet Naruto and Ren earlier than the invasion. Let's say the first C-rank or something. Wave arc here we come!  
**

 **Just hit me with suggestions and I'll see about it.**

 **As for the "me dying in a hospital"-thing. It came closer to that than I would like to admit and I'm not really sure how much time there will be for writing with the rehab. Be sure that Blind Light will receive a new chapter but I'm kinda hard-stuck there. I went very AU with it so I have a lot more thinking to do with it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Flashing Light**

 **A/N:**

 **Given the distinct lack of reviews I will just go ahead as planned. Thanks to the one that is there tough :3**

 **XxxxX**

I never expected the test Kurenai had for us to be easy. But I thought Ren and me could handle it even with Sasuke as baggage.

Well, I was wrong. So very wrong. Painfully wrong...

"Snake! Dodge!" I screamed as I launched myself trough the trees avoiding the three giant snakes that crawled the training ground. Ren hurtled sideways just in time to escape being eaten. A Snake, bigger than most trees in all of Konoha, snapped its enormous jaw shut and crushed a tree into dust as if it were but a toy. I hit the muddy ground and spun around with my sword ready. One of the snakes had it's focus one me, the others were hunting for Sasuke and Ren. I tensed for a moment before exploding forward.

 _Flashing Step!_

My blade struck the side of the snake full force but it didn't cut, I just slipped on the slippery scales! I cursed but didn't slow down however and took one more boosting step and disappeared into the bushes.

My eyes widened and I had to twist midair to avoid being burned to a crisp by the fireball that flew at the snake behind me. With my balance messed up I slammed into the ground, rolling until I hit a tree.

"What the fuck, Sasuke?!" I cursed and scrambled up the tree to get out of the snake's reach. The fireball hadn't done shit. Bloody Uchiha, pyromaniacs! All of them! Or at least so I would guess.

Sasuke landed on a branch next to me, totally ignoring the fact that he had nearly scorched my face off and his failure at having any effect at all.

"We need to find Kurenai before we're eaten alive," he said. I knew he was trying to sound calm and collected but the violent twitch of his eyes and fingers told me that duck boy was coiled like a spring.

"You don't say, moron. If you would just do as we told you and distract them, me and Ren could find her!" Oh we had a plan. _Had_. Sasuke just ignored it and left us to fend for ourselves to search for Kurenai. Well, look what it got him!

Kurenai wasn't the problem here either. No, our sensei enlisted the help of her best friend Anko to make searching for her _hell_. She summoned three snakes, told them to "Fetch!" and vanished. And that's how I developed a severe dislike for snakes.

Anyways, before Sasuke could respond the tree we sat on was felled by the powerful swipe of a scaled tail.

"Oh shit!" I shouted as I fell right into the direction of a wide open maw of one of the snakes. The bloody thing ate me whole.

 **XxxxX**

I froze when Orochimaru suddenly sneezed and my concentration was broken for long enough that one of his snakes caught up to me. Those fuckers were wickedly fast!

"Nonononono! Fuuuuuck!" I screamed as the snake opened its ugly mouth wide and attempted to swallow me.

"Someone out there is copying my training methods," was the last thing I heard the snake bastard mumble before I was devoured by his stupid snake where I joined the rest of the sound four. Dumb idiots got themselves eaten within a minute... Gods, I hate snakes!

 **XxxxX**

Gods, I hate snakes! I never ever in all of my life had experienced something so disgusting before.

The damn thing wiggled around me with it's slimy insides and all that sticky goo. The fact that the goo irritated my skin upon contact was disturbing so I had now had to think of a way to get out of there as fast as possible.

But... how?!

Oh gods above, I so hoped that Ren would get me out of here soon...

"Hi."

I gaped. I just gaped at him. Ren, in all his glory was sliding down besides me.

"Hi? HI!? Are you kidding me?!" I screamed at him. "You got yourself eaten!"

"So it would seem," he replied, pocking the pinkish inner walls of our slithery prison.

"Oh would it now?" I rolled my eyes. "How do we get out of here?"

"How would I know?" he asked, "Don't you think I would have already tried?"

I grunted. God dammit, we were going to fail this test! I took a deep breath, immediately regretting it. That wasn't just oxygen in the air her... Disgusting. Damn snakes.

"Ourgh!" I chocked and attempted to get the taste out of my throat. After a few seconds of useless gagging I shook my head. "Hopefully Sasuke can get us out of here..."

There was a sudden grunt from above the two of us and we look up. Sliding down the snakes gullet arse-over-teakettle was Sasuke, looking strangely non-pulsed by his situation.

"You jinxed it," Ren commented and I groaned.

"I hate you. Both of you."

 **XxxxX**

So Sasuke, Naruto and me actually made it. The fact that we didn't escape the snake seemed to be irrelevant. What counted for Kurenai was the fact that we tried to do it together.

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't stand each other and sought to constantly outdo the other. Kurenai had to keep them in line with her genjutsu and a lot of D-Rank missions. After we tired of them, we actually got to go on a C-Rank one.

Let's just say it was bad. Really bad.

 **XxxxX**

We received a report from Orochimaru that Konoha managed to form an alliance with wave country after a successful mission of a team that apparently held the snake's future vessel. That report came with orders to prepare for leave to Konoha.

Urgh, getting another fuckboy for the snake bastard. Well, not like I could do something about it. Yet.

 **XxxxX**

"Chunim exams?" Sasuke asked when Kurenai presented us with waivers to sign.

I skimmed through them. Naruto didn't bother looking at them.

"You think we are ready?" I asked my guardian.

She nodded. "I do, yes. You handled the Wave situation expertly. And while Zabuza's passing was a tragedy, Haku is a great asset to the village. As well as a great friend, so it seems." She looked at Sasuke at her last sentence who grunted and turned away from us.

When do we ever do something normal? I swear, our first C-Rank turning A-Rank was just cruel. Sure enough, the chunin exams were not about to be any kind of normal either. I just hated how right I was about that. The first part was perfectly normal, no sweat. We all cheated our way through the test and sat out the tenth question.

But it was the second part that got us fucked up.

We met, because why not, Orochimaru of the three Legendary Sannin in the Forest of Death. And the damn pedophile bit Sasuke, giving him, as Naruto called it, a hickey. Which it was not, but then again. he did have his lips on-... Anyways, we hid away in a hollow tree with Sasuke out of commission and Naruto with a broken, but rapidly healing... everything. Just everything. He was smashed through oh so many trees by an enormous snake, I think the only thing that didn't shatter was this thick skull of his.

"How are you holding up?" I asked the redhead when I returned from layering our surroundings with traps and enough genjutsu to scare away Kakashi.

Naruto groaned as another audible crack resounded trough the hollow tree as his bones set themselves in place again.

I nodded. "Right, working on it..."

What worried me the most wasn't Naruto's abused skeletal structure, but the evilly glowing mark on Sasuke's shoulder. If Naruto weren't in this state, he might have been able to do something about it, given that he laid into seals as if they were as necessary as air to him. Sasuke was writhing on the floor, gasping and grunting ever so often, sweating heavily with his muscles taut. Now there was only waiting left to do...

I had dozed off, dammit! I jumped up, hitting my head against the tree. Hurt like a bitch, but I still realized that Naruto and Sasuke were no longer here. Well shit. I sprinted outside and was relived to see them there. And also a bit confused... not to say disturbed.

"Naruto...," I asked, "Why are you massaging his neck? Shirtless?"

The redhead's eyebrow twitched but he didn't turn his eyes away from whatever he was doing.

"I am sealing this thing away, Ren," he said, "Get your mind out of the gutter."

The sudden scream of agony cut of my reply as Sasuke began to writhe on the ground, clutching his neck. His whole body began to glow bright red as symbols appeared all over the visible parts of his skin and then wandered up to the mark. With the sound of chains rushing by metal it was over and Sasuke lay panting on the ground.

I walked up to him and inspected what Naruto had done. The original mark was no longer visible, I supposed he just covered it up, instead there was the Uzumaki swirl in deep red above it. Chains of pure black shot out from the crest and seemed to dig into Sasuke's skin in random intervals.

"Looks neat," I jested, "but what does it do?"

Naruto huffed and wiped the sweat of his brow. "Well, it is bloody complicated. But lets just say that I couldn't seal the thing itself off so I just sealed the portion of Sasuke away which it is attached to."

My eyebrows rose. What? "You mean to tell me you sealed part of his neck away?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah. It's like the seal and part of his neck are now in a storage scroll. And inside a storage scroll, time stands still. That means that no matter what, as long as this seal is there, it's like that mark isn't."

Wow, that was actually genius. I shook my head. "So, shall we head for the tower now?" We had our scroll already after crushing some Sound Team.

"I think we best carry him for a while, that seal was tied to his neural _and_ chakra system. That hurt like a bitch," Naruto said, poking the exhausted Sasuke with his foot as the boy lay on the ground, glaring up at him.

"I don't really feel like carrying the emo bridal style..." I grinned. "Wanna put him in a storage scroll as a whole?"

Naruto grinned back evilly before looking down at Sasuke. "Well, there's a neat idea."

Sasuke just began sweating bullets, looking increasingly uncomfortable as we bent down to his prone form.

"What?Get off me. No. No! NOOOOOOO!"

 **XxxxX**

The preliminaries had been bullshit, but what else could they have been? Ren, Sasuke and I each beat our opponent, though Ren nearly died when that Hyuuga fucker aimed one of these weird ass chakra strikes at his heart. Well, now Neji was missing an arm. Serves him right, stuck up prick.

I had to fight Kiba, didn't even draw my sword, and Sasuke butchered the stretchy guy. As for the Uchiha, I get the distinct feeling that he isn't appreciating the fact that I sealed the Orochimaru's love bite away. Thinks it made him powerful. Bah! Stupid avenger bullshit.

We decided to train separately, as we could face each other in the finals. I would have to fight Ren if I won my fight against Lee and he won his fight against the blonde Suna girl. It took a while to find a training ground big enough for my needs but eventually I settled for Training Ground... well, it's abandoned so I don't think it has a name anymore. Now imagine my surprise when I stumbled over whom I supposed to be a Sound Ninja. I jumped up into the next tree with a manly exclamation of my frigh- of my shock. I wasn't scared!

"What the fuck!" was all I heard from the girl. She had been sitting on a tree stump at the very edge of the clearing, playing a flute I suppose. I had dropped down right besides her, of course absolutely silent so she hadn't heard me. I was surprised to see that she had red hair, not unlike mine. She jumped, like me into the next tree, looking around frantically for the source of my... _manly_ shriek. But she didn't spot me, I was good in hiding after all.

What was she doing out here? Was she here with the other examines? I supposed so, there was no other reason for a foreign ninja to be in Konoha otherwise. Deciding that she wasn't a threat, I jumped down from my tree and looked up at her. Only to look away again. Why did she have to wear a skirt? And since when did that bother me?

"Oi! Lady! Come down here!" I called up to her.

"Fuck you!"

Oh well, that went well. Changing tactics. "I can see up your skirt!"

She dropped down immediately. Great succe-! And then her fist ground into my face. Okay, not so great of a success...

"Fuck! Fine! Sorry!" I shouted. "Jeez, that hurt..." I saw her standing besides the tree stump glaring daggers at me, one hand holding down her skirt the other flipping me the bird. Huh, that looked kinda cute...

"What are you doing out here?" I asked her, "Aren't you with the rest of the Sound people?"

She stiffened. Oh dear, had I found something I wasn't supposed to find? I knew that people didn't give me much credit for brains and stuff but I was at least observant. I shook my head. "Never mind," I called out. I blinked. Why would I just dismiss the possibility that fast? Was it the hair? The beautiful, silky red hair? Must be it. Then another question came to my mind. "Say, are you and Uzumaki?" She had the hair after all.

She glared at me for a solid minute before answering. "Fuck if I know!" Talkative sort.

"Want to find out?" She just looked dumbly at me. "What? Something wrong?"

"Shut up, jeez!" she snapped. "Were you the one to shriek like a bitch in a fright?"

I coughed. "No..?"

She burst out laughing. "You were!"

"Was not!" I retorted.

She stopped laughing. "Were too!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

"Fuck you!"

"No, Fuck you!"

We turned away from each other with a huff, arms crossed and looking decisively not at each other. "So who even are you?" I asked her, still facing away.

She was silent for a time. I turned around and could see part of her face. It was scrunched up, as if she was thinking really hard about something.

"Tayuya," she finally said, turning towards me again, arms still crossed. "And you are, fuck face?"

"I don't remember being called that one before," I said, grinning. "Most of the time people call me Naruto, so why not go with that?"

"Nah, fuck face sounds more fitting," Tayuya said, grinning as mine faltered, and sat down on the tree stump again.

I sighed. "Have it your way." Deciding that I had wasted enough time, I walked into the clearing were a few big rocks were strewn out. Perfect for practice.

As I was attempting to split the rock with a singular slash with my sword using chakra, I halted mid swing when a soft melody reached my ears.

I instinctively short circuited my chakra as the genjutsu came in contact with me. Frowning deeply I turned around to ask what the fuck she was doing but I stopped when I saw her sit there and play, looking like an angel in red. She seemed unaware of her surroundings so I wondered what this genjutsu was about. Ah fuck it, I wanna see what it is.

The moment I was drawn into it, not much changed. Not at first. But with the genjutsu, her music came _alive_ , colors and shapes I couldn't even name, it all flowed of her lips in a constant stream of wonder and beauty. I stared, just gaped at it all with my mouth hanging open. But then it was over.

"What the hell Uzumaki!" she shouted as I blinked to regain my equilibrium, "You trying to catch flies over there?"

My mouth clacked shut and I shook my head. "That was... _beautiful_!" I shouted back at her, truly meaning what I said..I had never ever experienced something like that before.

She frowned ate me and barked "Whatever!" before turning around and doing something I couldn't see. Blushing, I bet.

I sighed and sealed my sword away. Couldn't focus enough for that. Instead I would practice my taijutsu. That always needed work. I was going though my third set when suddenly Tayuya shouted at me "You fucking suck!"

My left eye twitched and I whirled around to look at her. "Oh yeah?! And how would you know?"

She walked up to me, hands on her hips. "I'm a god damn jonin, smart-ass! And your stance _sucks_!"

Huh? How dare she-?! "Well fuck you! Show me then!" I dared her, "Show me how to it right then!"

A smirk. "Oh, should I?" They sway in her hips made me uneasy as she approached but I still managed to open my strangely dry mouth.

"Come on the," came out of my voice, so husky I hadn't recognized it as my own at first.

I remained in my stance as she came to stop an inch away from touching me.

"You are to wide," she whispered. "Idiot," she seemed to add as an afterthought.

"Am I now." It was but a breath.

"Yeah," Tayuya sighed as she laid her hand in mine and pushed it closer to my shoulder. My skin burnt at the contact, my chakra flow accelerated as much as my heartbeat did. She stepped even closer, her chest pressed _deliciously_ against me. The smell of autumn leaves invaded my nose and her hot breath hit my collar as she looked up at me with deep chocolate brown eyes.

"Move your other arm... lover boy."

And I did. The hand that had rested at my hip now snaked around her waist, pulling her close. "Better?" I asked lowly.

She nodded, squeezing the hand she still held and laid her head against my chest.

Then my mind ground to halt.

What the hell was I doing?! Didn't I meet her just a few minutes ago? How- A genjutsu? In the back of my mind I knew it wasn't, that I wanted this as much as she appeared to be this close to me.

My mind got kick started again when her lips latched onto my throat. I released a shuddering breath, drawing her closer, my hand curling in the soft fabric of her shirt.

Kami above, why was I- Her lips reached my jawline and I looked down abruptly, her lips ghosting over mine as she stared wide eyed up at me. As if on autopilot I leaned forward, my lips met hers and my mind went absolutely blank. She tasted _wonderful_ , nothing my words could ever hope to describe- What the fuck was I doing? I leaned back only a fraction of an inch, immediately regretting it as she pulled back as well.

We both were breathing heavily, her weight hung in my arms as if her legs had given out. A flash of confusion passed her features before she squeezed my hand again and stepped back, shakily. I reached out to steady her and she held onto me in order to remain standing.

"I-... I've got to go," she rasped, her throat audibly dry. She tried to step back but I held onto her. I couldn't just let her go. I needed... needed...

"Will you be here tomorrow?" I asked, just above a whisper.

A cheeky grin crept into her features. "Shit, of course I will. And don't you dare not to show up, lover boy!"

Her hand slid out of mine, my heart _hurt,_ and she vanished with a whistle of the wind.

Wow.

What the actual _fuck_ just happened?


	4. Chapter 4

**Flashing Light**

Chakra is a pretty curious thing. While not life force per se, it does get very close to that. To those who have chosen a life using it, it may as well be. It goes in different colors, affinities and even a general _feel_ of the person it belongs to. It is how a sensor finds and differs a chakra sources from another.

But even then there is more to it.

Chakra resonates with other chakra that is similar to itself, be it in intent or the literal sibling, parent or child, there is always this curious feeling of remembrance, of a shared connection if two different chakra users with resonating chakra come into contact. Like the mere presence of the mother soothes a child better than any other could. Or how those aiming for the same goal, backed by the same reason, find understanding greater than any could achieve otherwise.

Now, of course, such reaction and effects also exist for this wonderful thing called _love_. Aye, lads, its about to get real cheesy around here. Because, as fate (or the author) has seen it to be, two met who would never part.

Two met, whose unity would break every limit put upon them, tear apart every shackle, every bound that held them back.

Two met, whose love for each other was as undying as sun and moon.

And this, my friends, this is their story. And remember, The Moon shall only ever shine for his Sun.

 **XxxxxX**

I backed out of the clearing as fast as I could, leaving the redhead, Naruto, behind. My heart was beating too fast for me to settled down so I just dashed through the forest past the rivers and straight to the camp outside of Konoha where the others were waiting for the invasion to begin. I slipped of a tree and plummeted to the ground, rolling a few times. I stayed there, breathing hard.

Holy shit, what did I do? _Why_ did I do it!? I just ate the face off a perfect stranger! And I god damned loved it!

FUCK!

Wait, I said I would return? I did... Oh you've got to be kidding me... But when I looked into his eyes, his amethyst colored eyes, I just... I just wanted to see him again. It was a need, an urge even, I couldn't describe. From the moment I touched his hand I carved his presence, his touch. I-! Oh fucking hell, I sound like a bitch in heat!

Briefly checking with my lady parts I frowned.

I _was_ in heat. Jeez, what the fuck! I couldn't possibly meet him again, he was one of these leaf fuckers. I would be kidnapping his comrade soon enough! Well, considering what we know, he'd come with willingly anyways. But... I wanted to see lover boy again, so freaking much! It nearly hurts! What the hell!

Standing up quickly I searched for the nearest stream and threw myself in it. The water was freezing but it-... I didn't take my mind of the violet eyed fuc-, bast-,... Naruto! For all that is holy, I couldn't even seriously curse his name anymore! Not even in my own head!

I was panicking now. What the hell was wrong with me!? I needed to calm down. Calm the fuck down! I needed to-!

I needed to go back to him!

 **XXXXXX**

When Tayuya vanished I instantly felt the need to run after her, to be close to her again. And it was a strong urge, stronger than even the need for water after days of non stop training. Kami, what was going on? Was I sick? Why couldn't I stop thinking about her?

Shaking my head I decided to go home, nothing good would come of staying here, but-

What if she returned and I wasn't here anymore? Would she be disappointed? Sad, even? I couldn't stand the idea of it. Holy shit, it made me furious to think about it! So I stayed. I wanted to talk to her, to know who this girl was that made my heart ache for her mere presence with enough force to drive me mad.

So I sat down, besides the tree stump she had been sitting on, and waited.

I didn't have to wait all too long before I could _feel_ her approach me.

Not a muscle in my body moved as she slowly walked out from in between the trees. She halted for a second before walking over to the tree stump and sitting down on it. I glanced up at her, only seeing her back turned to me. But her presence alone had my blood burn once more and my hand moved to reach out to her on its own. Her hand met mine halfway and the surge ignited my chakra anew.

"What is going on...?" I whispered as I relished the feel of her hand in mine.

She pulled me up, turning to face me.

"Fuck, I have no friggin idea...," she responded and gazed into my eyes. "But I freakin' _love_ it..."

I just nodded, loosing myself in these unwavering eyes, and pulled her down to me. She didn't resist, flowed with the movement as if it had been her own. She ended up in my lap, clinging to me as I clung to her. Breathing hard and eyes dazed, holding onto the other as if our lives depended on it.

It certainly felt that way. As if _everything_ would just... end if I let go of her. Of Tayuya. She pressed her face into my vest, burying her face in the soft grey fabric.

"I don't understand this shit," she whispered and shook her head. "Why do I feel like this?"

I sighed into the crown of her hair, relishing how she shuddered against me. "I have no clue, not a single one." I truly couldn't understand why I was so drawn to her. It was an otherworldly feeling, like how it felt when I unlocked my chakra for the first time and was bathed in the sheer force it held. Now holding Tayuya offered the same comfort to me.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked. "You are from the Sound village, right? You will leave when the exams are over and I... I can't-"

"Can't stand to think about it," she whispered, finishing my thought.

I nodded. Then I pulled her chin up so I could meet her soft brown eyes. "So... who's gonna desert?" I asked with a weak grin.

She snorted but there was no humor. Tayuya swallowed thickly and averted her eyes. She stared into the forest. Much to my chagrin I knew that there were no buildings or any other form of accommodations out there. Nowhere where a team from Oto should stay. I, too, swallowed.

"I suppose you have to go back?" I asked tentatively. She just nodded mutely. "I'll be here tomorrow morning," I told her, "Just... be careful."

She looked at me with a hint of fear in her eyes so I just smiled as I let go of her hand.

"Tomorrow," she affirmed and slowly backed away, her hair dancing in the wind and her eyes so full of doubt.

Tayuya had a secret. A heavy secret but I... I just couldn't ask. She would tell me when the time was right. Until then, I would be here. "Tomorrow."

With a sad smile she vanished into the forest.

 **XXXXXX**

I lay panting on the ground, my sheathed sword atop my heaving chest. Sasuke was just as bad off as me but his stupid pride kept him upright, if only barely, as he leaned against a tree in the clearing.

"I have to say," he said to me, breathing heavily, "Even my Sharingan could barely see your sword, Ren."

I couldn't stop the pride from flowing up in me. I was finally getting closer to perfecting my fathers technique. And then... then I could finally take on his name... Was I truly worth it? Shaking my head, I pushed myself up. "You and your fancy eyes aren't half bad either," I huffed.

"Rematch?" he breathed.

I smirked. "You bet."

 **XXXXXX**

I was still running on autopilot when I stumbled over Ren. Quite literally. He was sleeping on the ground in front of my door. My eyebrow twitched in annoyance and I kicked him away from the door. He woke with a yelp, holding his bruised ribs.

"Ah shit," he grunted. "Why did you do that!?"

I shrugged. Nowhere even close to be in a mood to entertain him. Ever since _she_ left I felt as if I hadn't eaten in days and had the need to curl up in a ball and be sorry about myself. Did she feel the same? And why did I feel like that in the first place!? Was it this strange thing called love Kurenai was always on about when Kakashi was involved? It couldn't be.

Trudging inside I fell onto the couch with a long suffering sigh. Ren trudged in after me, looking at me curiously.

"So?" he asked, "What soured your mood?"

I waved him off. "Not soured," I said, "Confused, more like it."

I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Well, you never were the brightest so I'm not all that surprised."

"Shut up!" I said, snorting as I threw a pillow at him. "That's not what I am about!"

Ren sat down next to me, tilting his head into my field of vision. "What is it then?" he asked.

Okay... think, Naruto, think. Can I tell him? That I just kissed the living daylight out of a stranger. If a rather beautiful one but hey, that wasn't the point. Though, if I thought about her... her eyes were something else. And dear lord did she taste-

"Oi, Naruto!" Ren said loudly, "You're drooling!"

Well damn. Wiping the apparent drool from my mouth I looked sheepishly at him. "You see... I.. ehm," I stammered, not sure how to say it. "I might have kissed a girl I ran into and I kind of, maybe, hypothetically loved it and want to do it again."

Ren stared at me with utter disbelief written all over his face. "You... what?" he asked me after gaping for a while.

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Yeah? Yeah!?" he laughed, "You gotta be joking!"

"Am not!" I huffed indignantly. "And now... now I don't know... what to feel."

"Oh," was all the sound Ren made, apparently choosing to be serious about it. He fingered his ponytail uneasily before he spoke. "Well, you see, it's like this." He drew his sword and placed it in his lap. "When a swordsman first picks up a sword, he gets a feel for it without even having swung it yet. And this feeling, it tells him if this sword is right for him. So-"

"Hold the fuck up!" I exclaimed, holding up both hands. "I won't let you compare Tayuya to a god damn sword! Jeez, Ren! Is everything sword and sheath to you?"

Ren scowled. "But I am right, am I not?"

"You being a sword fetishist is all I see."

He huffed. "Fine. Have it your way. I was just trying to tell you that if you feel good about her, that she belongs to you and can be wielded by you-"

"Ren!" The nerve of him!

He rolled his eyes. "The point is, if it feels right, it just might be right. Got it?"

Well, there could be a point to that. "Why not say so from the very beginning?"

"Because..." He brandishes his blade. "Swords are awesome!"

Wow, I couldn't possibly have thought this a good idea... Then again, as I said, there might have been a point. Sighing I stood, intending to go for a walk. I needed to figure things out before I met her again tomorrow.

 **XXXXXX**

Sitting in my tent, all I could do was wonder if he would return. Then again, why should he? And more so, why should I? Maybe because I wanted to taste him again and-! Mercilessly crushing the thought I stood and went outside. "Oh fuck...," I hissed while stretching.

"Language, Tayuya," Jirobo reprimanded me, not even looking up from the campfire.I scowled fiercely at his back but was too busy thinking about stuffing my tongue down Naruto's-

Wow, I was either sick or my mind must have finally snapped over backwards and made me some sort of horny teenager... I passed by Kidomaru playing a game of some sort or another without a word, intending to go for a walk. Maybe I should walk back to Konoha, see if I could find Naruto and... mmmmmmh, spy! That's right, spying. Nothing more. Any maybe a quick snog and-

I shook my head. Why did I keep thinking about all this pervert stuff!? I didn't even see Sakon/Ukon (I really didn't bother remembering who was who) as I passed them/him(?) and left the premise of the camp, heading into the direction of the village.

"Going to take a look around!" I shouted backwards, not even waiting for a response before I was already halfway to Konoha.

 **XXXXXX**

How I ended up at the hot springs I'd never know but one thing I knew for certain: That the old man sitting on the tree over my head was sure as hell not watching the birds. Scowling at the pervert I unsealed my sword and swiftly chopped down the small tree. He fell with a startled yelp, which revealed his presence. I was surprised to see that he was hit by various stones and soap buckets even while the tree fell. He must have been spying on the kunoichi. What a fool. It's not like he could have seen anything of interest in the first place. Tayuya was far more pleasing to look at. The way her thighs flexed... her slender fingers... And-.. Was my nose bleeding?

I was startled when the white haired man hit the water as if it was made of concrete, remaining face first on the surface for a second before slowly sinking into it. What an idiot. Did he try to land on the water and somehow channeled chakra through his god damn face? I shook my head. This degree of idiocy should be forbidden.

"Now who do we have here?"

My eyes widened as I jumped away from the voice behind me. I skidded over the water (damn, that was hot against my feet!) and turned to see the white haired pervert stand behind me.

"What the hell, old man!" I exclaimed but he didn't seem to be listening. He was staring intently at me, or more precisely, at my stomach. The seal. I frowned. When I was channeling chakra, it would always appear. And with the way he was looking at it... did he know what it was?

"How you doing with the furry little bugger?" he asked, almost nonchalantly.

So he knew something. Furry little bugger? Was he some high ranking guy? "Fine, I suppose," I answered diplomatically.

The man made an annoyed noise. "Don't pretend to know what I'm talking about, kid," he said.

OK, that guy annoyed me! "What the hell are you talking about then?! Who even are you?"

He struck an utterly ridiculous pose, arms outstretched in a pompous gesture and one foot resting on the head of what appeared to be an extremely annoyed toad, wherever that one even came from. "Me?" he exclaimed in disbelief, as if the question had offended him. "I am the great toad sage! Jiraiya of the Sannin!" An explosion of steam in the background accented his performance and I found myself grimacing at him.

"No," I said, "I am not dealing with this." Why the hell did I even come here? Stupid perverts, they were everywhere these days! Spying on-... Oh I will murder his ass if he spies on Tayuya! "And stay away from the hot springs! Especially from the redheads!"

I stalked away, towards the building to get dressed, but the man suddenly appeared before. I gulped, I didn't even see him move. "Redheads?" he inquired, almost dangerously low.

Well shit, that guy didn't seem like he would simply let that slide. Then again, why was he even interested in me?

"You and I will have a long talk about that seal of yours," he said, apparently foregoing the redhead for now.

Kami dammit! But I couldn't deny that I was... curious. "Okay..," I said eventually, "Let's talk."

He nodded seriously. "But first LET ME SEE THE LADIES!" he suddenly exclaimed, tongue lulling hungrily out of his mouth. I hated this man already.

 **XXXXXX**

Kurenai was eyeing me. She was obvious about it on purpose, I could feel it. Maybe I shouldn't have asked her if kissing a perfect stranger senseless was weird. Now she looked about ready to kill me. Or give me the talk. Personally, I couldn't decide what was worse. So, before she could eve start, I stopped her the only way I knew to: I handed her Naruto on a silver plate.

Yeah, not really honorable but you never met Kurenai Yuhi when she was pissed.

"I'm not asking for me!" I exclaimed, backpedaling as fast as possible, "Naruto told me kissed some girl and-"

Kurenai's eyebrows took off from their graceful rest above her red eyes and almost shot into her hairline. " _Naruto_ kissed a girl? A perfect stranger?!"

"Uh... that's what he told me?" I offered, trying to move towards the door.

"The brat!" she huffed angrily, "Time to teach him some manners!" She stomped past me without so much as looking at me. "Kissing random grils! The nerve of him!"

I swallowed. I got out of that alive. Well, Naruto was a tough one. He would make it.

...

Probably.


End file.
